Notes From The Common Man: Drunken Christianity

Notes From The Common Man: Drunken Christianity: I like to ride a bike, so I was doubly struck last month when I read that the newly appointed and first female Episcopal Bishop of Maryland ...

Drunken Christianity

I like to ride a bike, so I was doubly struck last month when I read that the newly appointed and first female Episcopal Bishop of Maryland hit and killed a cyclist, and, without stopping, left scene of the accident. According to the news stories, Bishop Suferagan Heather Cook hit the cyclist on a wide residential street while he was riding in the designated bike lane. The biker was struck by the front of the car, and he then caved in the windshield of the car on his way to the pavement. Bishop Cook kept on driving. She was followed by another motorist, who witnessed the accident, back to her gated apartment complex where, not being able to enter he lost sight of her. After about 20 minutes she returned to the scene of the accident and accepted responsibility for the hit and run. This same woman was arrested in 2010 for drunken driving and possession of marijuana. Perhaps her level of self awareness has improved since that first incident, because, in the hit and run accident she only blew a .22, while back in 2010 she hit a whopping .27 blood alcohol content. In both cases, she was dead drunk, while in the latest incident her unfortunate victim is just dead. I'm sure she's very sorry this happened. Particularly, now that she has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. As I said, I'm doubly struck by her apparent ability to compartmentalize her Christianity and her regard for her fellow human beings.

I don't think my blood has ever enjoyed the intense high that a .27 BAC can provide, but I know I've been on the road having had too much to drink. I've often joked that M.AD.D. has taken all of the fun out of drunk driving, but in truth, there is not much fun in the death or injury of someone because of negligent behavior. Of course, you don't have to be drunk to be cavalier about the safety and welfare of the people around you.

I often see (what's the right word?) obnoxious, rude, uncaring, irresponsible, aggressive, psychotic, impatient, dangerous, thoughtless,unkind, (wait; I've got it.) sadly human behavior when I'm out on my bike. Not that I don't see these traits elsewhere, but I'm more aware of them when I'm at my most vulnerable, that is, on the side of the road, on wheels that have less than one square inch of contact with the pavement, and I'm being approached either from behind or from ahead by a 3000 pound + vehicle perhaps driven by a person exhibiting one or more of the above traits.

I've often commented that religion is of practical use to only about half the population. That is, I suspect that around 25% of people have a good enough moral compass without the need  of religious guidance, 25% of the population is irretrievably immoral, and the other 50% can accept proper moral training, if the trainers themselves have proper moral grounding, which, when it comes to religion, is not guaranteed.   I'm afraid that this also is analogous to the drivers I encounter on my rides. So here is a rule for the trainable 50% of drivers, so that I can live when you approach me on my bike.

Act as if an impatient or thoughtless move on your part could result in death or injury on my part.

I'll come back to this topic later with some more specific suggestions that can help us co-exist.

Note: When writing this blog, for some reason I was unable to edit a few places properly. The blog site would not let me use my space bar to enter commas or additional words in a few paces where they were needed. As in the above sentence where I left off the s on spaces. Strange!

Wild Flowers

Here's another maudlin observation about getting old, but stick with the tale because I want to speak of the sad loss of a very nice lady. One of the unpleasant things you do more often in the last third of your lifespan, besides frequent urination, asking people to repeat themselves, and occasional constipation, is going to the funerals of friends and family. I convinced my cousins to have a monthly lunch together, because, we are just about out of parents funerals to attend and get to see each other. This has really worked out well, and if you love you cousins as much as I do, I suggest you start your own monthly family reunion. I've not always been the best at paying my last respects, and I regret some of the funerals I missed, but should have attended. I'm trying to do better. Today was one of those days.

Sarah Howard was my third grade teacher. She was one of only a few, whom, I felt sincerely liked me. Every time our paths crossed, she would always, to my embarrassment, comment on how much "horse sense" I had. This, in opposition to the "mulish stubbornness" opinion that most of my other teachers had of me. I must have responded in kind. I don't remember many details of my third grade class, with the exception of singing "16 tons" in front of the class with Michael Allman, and first displaying my lifelong love of reading, but, that year I don't think I got into any fistfights (an exception for me), went to the Principal's office, or spent any time in the utility closet where I spent a good portion of my second grade. She was a good influence. She had a kind, sweet voice that, whenever I heard her, made me feel I was still in the third grade, and wish I was.

I often ran into Sarah, because her husband, Bill, befriended me when I as a high school student worked for him at the Coca- Cola plant. I worked there through most of college, and also helped him with the ice skating rink. It's always been a treat to see and talk to Bill. He grew up here and has lots of interesting stories about Concord, and about his time in WWII as a pilot instructor. He told me once how he first met his wife, and it was as they say "love at first sight".

Sarah had transplanted wildflowers into her front yard with little signs indicating their plant names. I guess I'll think of her every time I see a Trillium, Turks Cap, or a Pink Lady Slipper.

My sincerest condolences to Bill and his family.

Pogo

This should cheer you up.

Here it is, a few days into 2015, and my 67th birthday is fast approaching. I've become an old man. When you are young, your life stretches out seemingly without end into the the future, and your past is only yesterday. But now, a large part of my history happened before the majority of people on this earth were born, and the future is a line of falling dominoes with the end in sight. Fortunately I seem to be in pretty good health, with, so far, only the aches and pains of a much abused body. I can still read, remember, and comprehend. I can still ride my bike for hours on end, and I still work, although I'm not going to much longer. But when these things fail me, I may decide that life is not worth living. Of course, things can change for the drastic worse in a heart beat (or the lack of) as some of my friends have already found out. In any case, I'm going to cling to life and make the best of the time I have remaining, for, after all, time is the most valuable, yet dwindling commodity I own.

Life expectancy in America was, for men, 45 years in 1900. In 1948, (the year I was born) it was 65, and today it is almost 75. By the standard of the year I was born, I have already lived beyond expectation, and it is likely, but not guaranteed, that I will live beyond today's standard. I am a small part of our country's, and most of the civilized world's greatest problem. I have lived too long. Pogo the possum was born, or should I say, was first drawn in 1941, making him 74 years old. More than ever, he would surely say today, "We have met the enemy, and he is us".

I started working full time in 1973. I've never made a lot of money, but between me and my employers, around $200,000 in Social Security and Medicare has been paid into the Social Security fund. Since going on medicare, I have had one major surgery, which cost Medicare probably $50,000. If I stay perfectly healthy and die in my sleep, Social Security will be in the red with me in about 6 more years, although it is most likely that I will have exceeded my contributions in much less time. But wait, you might argue, the Federal government uses that money to pay off previous claims, and borrows the rest to fund the government, and pays the money back with interest when there is a deficit in the Social Security pay outs. Currently, the fund is about 3 trillion in the black, but the government has loaned all of that money to itself, and going forward, as claims exceed contributions, the government is required to pay this money back to meet future claims. There are only two legitimate ways to do this. One, we borrow from someone else, (maybe the Chinese or  Vesuvians), or two, we raise the money through taxation.

Of course it was not supposed to be this way. At least in theory, each generation would have paid in enough to cover the pay outs required by claimants. But, the baby boom spike, and more importantly, the longevity spike, and the increase in health care costs, and advances in health care technology have profoundly altered this dynamic.

This new dynamic has had a huge impact on every 1st world country. In most third world countries, older people are still dying at a convenient rate, with only a modest increase in longevity. But, in 1st world countries, a reverse pyramid has been created, where a declining birth rate combined with the aforementioned increase in longevity has created a situation where fewer and fewer working people are available to support those that no longer work. It's as if a destitute parent has moved into the spare bedroom, and you no longer have the money or the room to have children. Today, America's fertility rate is only about 1.93, compared to a 2.1 rate needed to maintain a stable population. And, as you go up the socioeconomic ladder, the birthrate declines even more, to around 1.6, equivalent to the Chinese one child policy. In Japan, the birth rate is down to 1.4, and by 2050 it is projected that only 51% of the population will be in the workforce age between 20 and 65. You can hardly find a 1st world country with a sustainable birthrate. On the other hand, you can hardly find a third world country without a surplus birthrate. I wonder where all these extra people will go?

I don't have a grand solution to this problem, I'm not quite willing to agree to take a "Social Security Pill" when I reach a certain age. But I'm sure that if we don't do something, our children, grandchildren, and future generations will face an increasingly dismal future.

Advice

My wife, Kathy, and I are rapidly approaching retirement, and I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do with the next 30 years of my life. So, today, as we are headed to the movies, and as we go through town, Kathy comments on the old empty gas station at the corner of Corban and Union Streets. She wonders if it will ever find a use, as it is small and has very little parking.

This gets me thinking, and as my stream of consciousness progresses, I come up with a use for the building, and a retirement project for me. I think I will go into the advice business. Now, I've lived a long life and have learned from my numerous mistakes, and from a few good decisions, so, I think that I am well qualified to tell others what they should do. Stay in school, don't major in English Literature or medieval history, don't join a cult. Having thoughts about marrying you boyfriend when he gets out of prison, come talk to me. I've been doing a lot of this work on the side for free, so why not get paid for it.

I know I can't charge like a doctor, lawyer, or a plumber, but advice demands a high price. After all, who wants free or cheap advice. You get what you pay for. Charging a fee ads credibility to the advice, and the higher the fee the more profoundly it enhances the advice and increases the chance that it might actually be followed. I think there is a huge market for this service. It seems that every time I turn on the TV someone is offering free advice. There's Dr Phil, Suzy Orman, Joel Osteen, Martha Stewart, and  Bobby, giving advice on things that support their products, whether it be prosperity religion,  recipes, or high priced heating and air service. I simply propose to cut out the ulterior motive. You pay me directly for my completely unbiased expert advice.

I'm not even sure I can handle the work load. I'm thinking of offering positions to a few of the old guys in my morning coffee klatch. They have the immense wisdom of the ancients, and have shown an unselfish desire to offer their advice to someone almost every day.

I do have some concerns. How should I charge for my services, by the hour, or by the amount of intellectual capital I invest in the solution to a particular problem. Another concern is the potential liability I might incur in the unlikely occasion of someone following my advice to an unacceptable result. I plan to consult with the experts over coffee in the morning.

TWO RULES FOR SURVIVAL

This will probably be the most right wing sounding post I will ever make.

I'm reading a book titled Empire of the Summer Moon, by S W Gynne, about the protracted eighteen hundreds conflict with the Comanche Indians in the American South West. The book chronicles the brutal, random attacks by the Indians against the white settlers encroaching on the traditional plains Indians hunting grounds of the south west. It includes details of captives taken and the horrible torture and mutilation of the victims. Of course, it also details the cruel treatment and massacres of the Indians by the white settlers, the Texas Rangers, their Indian scouts and the Army.

From the day that Columbus set foot on Hispaniola, the native Americans fought an existential  battle with the European invaders, and one by one the tribes were defeated by disease and force until, ultimately, each tribe was banished from its homeland. The Comanches put up a much better fight. With the aid of their modern technology, the horse, they were able to fend of the the Spanish, achieve dominance over all the other South Western tribes, and hold off American settlers for nearly 100 years. Ultimately they were defeated by overwhelming force, modern weapons, and, most importantly, a change in American attitude that put all options on the table. This meant that we abandoned the notion that we could convert hostile natives into gentle farmers through the use of treaties that neither side kept, and we offered enticements to encourage the Indians to sign these treaties. It also meant that we took the fight to them, destroyed their encampments, killed the buffalo that fed them, drove off  or killed their horses, and murdered their women and children. A disclaimer here: I, like most Americans whose great-great grandparents were not from native stock, am glad that the Caribs did not shoot arrows and chuck spears at Columbus until he fled to his ship, and that the Indians fed and helped the pilgrims through the rough winter. Glad but somewhat ashamed.

So, I'm reading this book, and it sounds so sadly familiar. History is full of stories about invading hordes conquering native populations too weak or to unwilling to fight back. It reeks of atrocities heaped upon the native populations. It resounds with existential conflicts like that of the Palestinians and Jews, claiming the right to the same territory and locked in a battle to drive out or destroy each other. It repeats itself with the modern day Comanches, ISIS, the result of the marginalization of Sunni Muslims after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein coupled with the Wahhabi inspired terrorism of al qaeda. After reading this book, a couple of fundamental rules come to mind.

First of all, if you are in a fight for your very survival, there can be no rules. This is a concept that most liberals, including myself, find hard to swallow. This is true in American politics, where, at least from my point of view, Republicans have adapted to this policy through the use of gerrymandering, unlimited campaign contributions, and outright lying and distortion from the right wing pols and their mouth pieces such as Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, etc. This is also true in the case of our enemies, Again, I refer to ISIS. I have heard several of my otherwise reasonable friends claim that we are at war with the entire Muslim world. I don't believe this to be true, although we are certainly at war with the most radical elements of that world. However, I am afraid that as we justifiably battle these radical elements, we are at the same time creating a situation in which we will be forced into a war with most of the Muslim world. If that day comes, I hope we can remember this first rule.

Secondly, when Quanah Parker was asked by a visitor how the Indians allowed the white men to take over their land, he invited the visitor to sit with him on a cottonwood log. As he and the visitor talked, Quanah would occasionally scooch over until eventually the visitor fell off the end of the  log. This seems to me to be the biggest driving force behind American politics today, "falling of the log". White Americans, and most especially white male Americans are increasingly afraid of being pushed of the log by dark skinned invaders from the south and by the darker skinned tribes we imported. From a demographic stand point, this fear has some merit. Low birthrate among whites coupled with the desire of millions of Hispanics for a better life in "el norte" signal a dramatic shift in the balance of power in this country. For the right wing of this country, the answer seems to be the consolidation of power by the soon to be white minority, and for the left wing, let the doors swing wide, we might get a few more votes. I suspect that a middle course of tough but not draconian enforcement of immigration laws coupled with even tougher enforcement of labor laws and absolute strict border control, including the force of arms, be used to slow the tide of immigration to the point that future immigrants can be successfully integrated into the American way of life. This would be the ideal resolution, but most importantly, we must follow rule number two. Don't get pushed off the log.

I encourage my few readers to comment on this post and to forward the posts to you friends.

Help for the Homeless

Our coffee klatch still meets at Ellie's each morning at 7:00. We've got a group of about 8 regulars, and we sometimes have some pretty good discussions, although we can also sink to some course and vulgar language upon occasion. I guess we are lucky that Phillipe has not thrown us out, although I suspect he actually enjoys our company early in the morning.

Not so with the homeless people, on Friday, Phillipe had to throw out a group of homeless that had been coming in for the last couple of weeks. I had been watching this unfold, as the crowd became more numerous, bought little, used the bathroom as a bathhouse, and generally out stayed its welcome. I observed Phillipe steel himself for the unpleasant task, and sure enough he did the dirty deed. Now, don't get me wrong, Phillipe is a nice guy, and I know he did not want to do what he had to do, but he had had complaints, and he does have a business to run. I just hope no one is complaining about us.

One of the things we occasionally talk about in the morning, is what each of us would do if one of us won the lottery. I know that most of us has revealed our hearts desires, if we suddenly became richer than God. Of course, I would want some luxuries, such as being able to quit working, buy a big sail boat, be able to travel, and eat and drink in nice restaurants whenever I choose. But, I like to believe that I would be generous, and wise in my generosity. I like to ride a bike, and one thing I have mentioned is a large donation to the city for the extension of the Branch View Green way, and the building of a green way that would allow cyclists to safely get out to the country roads on the east side of town. This is not a totally selfless wish, but I've read that true selflessness does not exist.

On Saturday, my friends Tim and Steve and myself went for a long bicycle ride, and on some of the long uphills, of which there were many, we talked about Phillipe having to kick out the homeless people in his restaurant. We all agreed that they need a place to hang out during the day. It's sad to see them around the library or across the street on the low wall at Central Methodist Church, when the wind is blowing and it's bitter cold. There is the night shelter, but they have to be out, I believe, by 7:00 AM. So, in a moment of false largess, I commented that if I ever win the lottery, I would try to set up a day shelter for the homeless, and establish a fund to sustain it. Now, I've never so much as caught a free tee shirt at a basketball game, so I know I'm never going to win the lottery, that's something that happens to someone else whom I'm not even sure really exists. So, my intentions to help the homeless sometime in the future with lottery winnings I will never receive is complete bull shit.

But tonight, in a moment of inspiration and good intentions, I realized that I can do this thing if I am willing. I can look into setting up a charity to help fund the project, look for a modest site for the project, seek volunteers to give me guidance and support, and seek donations of furniture and supplies and of course money.

I'll grant you that I have not always followed through on my big ideas, there is no golf course/memorial park (Fair Way to Heaven), Wiki Local news, income tax lottery for campaign financing, or Sin of Onan Masturbatory Baptist Church, but maybe I'll hit my stride on this one.  If I do, I hope I can count on your support. And, if I win the lottery, look for some new green ways.